Weird night fog over town in Washington State

Bigwebmaster

Site Admin

Posts: 9072

Loc: Seattle, WA & Phoenix, AZ

3+ Months Ago

I literally took this picture about ten minutes ago. There is a really thin fog over the city below (well cities really: Sumner, WA - Tacoma, WA - Puyallup, WA - Auburn, WA) so the lights are still shining through, but its giving it a myserious and interesting look because of all the different colors that seem to come through. I did not edit this photo, I only resized it. This is exactly what it looks like outside right now.

Unfortunately I had to increase the ISO speed some because the longest shutter time my camera can do is 30 seconds. Normally I like to take shots at ISO 100, but in the dark sometimes it just can't happen so I have to compensate some. I took many other similiar shots as well, I might post some more if anybody wants to see.

katana

Mastermind

Posts: 2391

Loc: Edinburgh, Scotland

3+ Months Ago

Wow, kinda like aurora borealis.

SB

Moderator

Posts: 8748

Loc: Aberdeen, Scotland

3+ Months Ago

wow, that is pretty amazing! Good pictures there BWM!

ATNO/TW

Super Moderator

Posts: 23454

Loc: Woodbridge VA

3+ Months Ago

katana wrote:

Wow, kinda like aurora borealis.

That was exactly the first thought I had. Nice shots Bigweb!

Axe

Genius

Posts: 5735

Loc: Sub-level 28

3+ Months Ago

Wow, ISO800 and it's still this dark after 30 seconds?

Which camera did you get? 10D? 20D? Doesn't it have a remote shutter cable that will allow exposures longer than 30 seconds?

Does that body have any in-camera noise reduction for long exposures? Have you done anything in Photoshop or other applications (Noise Ninja, NeatImage, etc) to reduce the noise level of the higher ISO?

Bigwebmaster

Site Admin

Posts: 9072

Loc: Seattle, WA & Phoenix, AZ

3+ Months Ago

Yes, there was not much light to work with, so even after 30 seconds on ISO 800 it was this dark.

Canon EOS 20D is what I used, and I believe it has in-camera noise reduction of some sorts, but I am sure you could look up reviews on the camera to be sure. I did not edit the photos above, other than resizing it down.

I have no idea if it has a remote shutter cable to allow exposures longer than 30 seconds, if it does I would love to know more, as I might be interested in obtaining that.

Axe

Genius

Posts: 5735

Loc: Sub-level 28

3+ Months Ago

I'm not sure about the Canons, but with the Nikons, they have a setting beyond 30 seconds called "Bulb" (you can reach this in manual mode)...

Basically, in this setting, you use either a screw-in mechanical shutter release cable, or a digital remote (like Nikon's MC-20 - or the D70's infra-red shutter release) which allows long (LONG) exposures. The MC-20 remore allows up to 99 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds unattended.

I'm sure Canon has some way of doing this.

You should do a little post-processing to help increase the contrast a bit. If you're shooting RAW, you'll easily be able to pull a lot of detail out of those shadows. Also possibly increase the saturation a tad to really make those colours pop.

Great shots Bigweb

Bigwebmaster

Site Admin

Posts: 9072

Loc: Seattle, WA & Phoenix, AZ

3+ Months Ago

Yes after 30 seconds it does say bulb, so it sounds like I may be able to use a screw in mechanical shutter release cable or a digital remote. I will look into that thanks!

As far as editing the pictures, I was happy with the above results so I did not do anything to them. That is exactly what it looked like outside last night.

LAbrego

brego from LA

Posts: 2855

3+ Months Ago

wow, amazing shots BWM! I'd like to see more if you have them.

Impel GD

Professor

Posts: 834

Loc: Cologne, Germany

3+ Months Ago

Wow! Very nice.

I agree with Axe; a little more contrast via the curves box would really bring out those colours.

Bigwebmaster

Site Admin

Posts: 9072

Loc: Seattle, WA & Phoenix, AZ

3+ Months Ago

I just wanted to give an update on my photo. I submitted it to one of the major news channels of the Seattle area here and they made a story out of my picture! Here is the link:

http://www.komotv.com/stories/40658.htm

Also labrego I will try to put a few of the other shots that I took on here soon.

LAbrego

brego from LA

Posts: 2855

3+ Months Ago

Thanks BW

EDIT: Oh, and of course you're an astute photographer! *lol with a lot of luck too